David Green - Page 21

I had the absolute pleasure of seeing two things last night that I had never seen before. A production of Harvey Fierstein's CASA VALENTINA and a sold out, standing room only crowd at The Pearl McManus Theatre. Brava to Dezart Performs on both counts!! CASA VALENTINA is the premiere performance of Dezart's ninth season in Palm Springs and sets a high barre for the season to come. Based on real events, Casa Valentina (or The Chevalier d'Eon) is a resort in The Catskills in the early 1960's whose guests are heterosexual men who dress and act as women. It is the story of gender identity and self acceptance and a close-knit group of men who never feel more "themselves" than when dressed as the women who live somewhere deep inside them. 

The McCallum Theatre presents the new national touring production of The Sound of Music, directed by three-time Tony Award® winner Jack O'Brien, for 8 performances, Tuesday, November 22, through Sunday, November 27. BEN DAVIS (Broadway's Violet, A Little Night Music, La Boheme)will play Captain Georg von Trapp and MELODY BETTS will play The Mother Abbess with MERWIN FOARD as Max Detweiler, TERI HANSEN as Elsa Schraeder, AUSTIN COLBY as Rolf and PAIGE SILVESTER as Liesl. The production introduces Jack O'Brien's brand new discovery, KERSTIN ANDERSON as Maria Rainer.  A current student at Pace University, Ms. Anderson won the coveted role from hundreds who auditioned. 

You can capsulize most pop music acts by reciting how many hits they've had and how many millions of albums they've sold.  But these conventional measurements fall short when you're assessing the impact of The Beach Boys.  To be sure, this band has birthed a torrent of hit singles and sold albums by the tens of millions.  But its greater significance is the fact that it changed the musical landscape so profoundly that every pop act since has been in its debt. Happily for us all, The Beach Boys continue to create and perform with the same bold imagination and style that marked their explosive debut over 50 years ago.The McCallum Theatre presents The Beach Boys on Sunday, November 20, at 3:00pm. 

The McCallum Theatre presents An Evening with George Takei on Saturday, November 19, at 8:00pm. With a career spanning five decades, George Takei is known around the world for his founding role in the acclaimed television series "Star Trek," in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise. But George Takei's story goes where few stories have gone before. From a childhood spent with his family imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp during WWII, to becoming one of the country's leading figures in the fight for social justice, LGBTQ rights, and marriage equality, George Takei remains a powerful voice on issues from politics to pop culture.

The McCallum Theatre welcomes the return of Olivia Newton-John on Friday, November 18, at 8:00pm. With more than 100 million albums sold, Olivia Newton-John's successes include four Grammy Awards, numerous Country Music Association (CMA) awards, American Music Awards and People's Choice Awards, an Emmy, ten #1 hits and more than fifteen Top 10 singles. In 1978, her co-starring role with John Travolta in Grease catapulted Olivia into super-stardom, and to date, Grease remains the most successful movie musical of all time. With a career spanning more than five decades, she is a vibrant, creative individual adored by fans around the world. 

Through the generosity of Brooke and Dan Koehler, the McCallum Theatre presents Celtic Thunder on Friday, November 4, at 8:00pm. Celtic Thunder is an Irish singing group and stage show known for its eclectic, theatrical style show. In 2007, producer Sharon Browne filmed the first Celtic Thunder show in Dublin. The concept featured men from Ireland and Scotland, and songs celebrating a common Celtic heritage, from the traditional to international hits and original pieces. Accompanied by the Celtic Concert Orchestra, Celtic Thunder has become a household name around the world, with recent ventures into Australia and South Africa. With the airing of their first Public Television special in 2008, Celtic Thunder consistently remains one of the most popular musical shows for stations throughout the U.S. 

Coyote StageWorks, the Coachella Valley-based award-winning Actors' Equity professional theater company, will begin its 2016-2017 'Legendary Ladies' season on November 26, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. with a staged reading benefit gala performance of the beloved production 'Steel Magnolias,' by playwright Robert Harling. It will feature performances by well-known actresses Florence Henderson, Sally Struthers, Carole Cooke, Mo Gaffney, Yo Younger and Elaine Hayhurst and will be held at the Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum. 

To kick-off its 9th season, DEZART PERFORMS will present Casa Valentina, a thoroughly entertaining Tony Award-nominated "dramedy" written by Harvey Fierstein, the multiple Tony Award-winning actor/playwright and American Theatre Hall of Famer. Fierstein's raucous dramedy, CASA VALENTINA, is a hugely entertaining production that will have audiences buzzing. This 2014-nominated Tony Award production for Best Play, is based on a factual Catskills resort that catered to heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. The period piece returns us to the land of dirty dancing and borscht belt comedy, circa 1962. The play transports the audience to an inconspicuous bungalow colony that caters to this very special clientele -- white-collar professionals who discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos.

Coyote StageWorks, the Coachella Valley-based award-winning Actors' Equity professional theater company, announced its eighth season that will run throughout 2016-2017. Dubbed "Legendary Ladies," the schedule of performances will include the Company's signature one-night-only benefit and productions of two beloved stage plays, all presented at the Annenberg Theater, located inside the Palm Springs Art Museum. The season celebrates "Legendary Ladies" and will feature renown actresses Florence Henderson, Sally Struthers, Mo Gaffney, Loretta Swit and Gloria Loring in productions of 'Steel Magnolias," "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks," and "The Lady With All the Answers."

The McCallum Theatre announced today that the international sensation and Valley audience favorite band  Pink Martini will headline its annual fundraising gala to be held on Wednesday, November 30th,  with a special appearance by the "global gigastar," Dame Edna. Pink Martini returns to the McCallum for this special evening following a sold-out run of five performances in the 2015-2016 season.  Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world - brilliantly combining elements of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop - Pink Martini's diverse repertoire is a blend influenced by Cole Porter and Duke Ellington, Tito Puente and Xavier Cugat, as well as Argentine tango, Brazilian samba, Italian folk, Asian and romantic Hollywood musicals of the 1940s and '50s. According to bandleader/pianist Thomas Lauderdale, "If the United Nations had a house band in 1962, Pink Martini would be that band."

Varla Jean Merman brings her hilarious new show Varla Jean Merman: A Little White Music ("a honky hit-parade of the whitest music you've ever suffered through!") to Palm Springs' Copa Nightclub and Cabaret on October 14 and 15 at 8PM. Jeffery Roberson aka Varla Jean Merman (who boasts that Ernest Borgnine is her father and Ethel Merman is her mother) is perhaps best known for her role in the independent film Girls will be Girls. She had a co-starring role in the 1997 film, Franchesca Page. Merman was also one of the performers featured in the HBO original documentary Dragtime.

Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Jane Lynch comes to the McCallum Theatre on Saturday, October 29, at 8:00pm for her Palm Desert solo concert debut in "See Jane Sing." Fresh from her iconic portrayal of Sue Sylvester on "Glee" and her Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in Annie, Jane will bring her comic skills and musical prowess to the theatre stage. Audiences should prepare for a side-splitting evening of musical comedy, with more than a dash of wit as Jane explores her love of the beauty and absurdity of the American standard and show tune.

The McCallum Theatre will kick off its 2016-17 season with the Fifth Annual McCallum Theatre Family Fun Day set for Sunday, October 23, 2016 featuring a performance of the critically-acclaimed The Underwater Bubble Show.   Proceeds from this special annual event will support theatre operations including the McCallum Theatre Institute, the Theatre's award-winning arts education program that provides arts training to 40,000 students and educators annually, serving 70% of Coachella Valley classrooms.

The Queen of Mexican Music, Aida Cuevas and America's first all-female mariachi ensemble, Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, unite for ¡Viva la Mujer Mariachi!, a concert extravaganza celebrating women in mariachi on Saturday, October 15, at 8:00pm. Latin Grammy winner Aida Cuevas is Mexico's most important female voice celebrating a long lasting career, leaving a remarkable imprint in the history of Mexican music. Today's highest example of female mariachi performance, Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles bring sensitivity, beauty, warmth, and a vivacious spirit to the historic art of mariachi.

The incomparable Kristine W will headline Halloween Palm Springs, Saturday, October 29 from 6:00-10:00 p.m. Kristine W has scored 16 potent #1 dance hits and a record-setting string of nine consecutive #1s on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart over the past 16 years, earning Kristine third place on Billboard's Best of 2000s Dance Club Play Artists rankings and landing this highly-musical and multitalented independent entertainer squarely within a pantheon of legends and major stars. I had a chance to catch up with Kristine W as she was beginning to prepare for her upcoming Palm Springs appearance, to talk about both the Halloween Concert and all things Kristine W.

The Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum will be the setting for An Intimate Evening with Linda Lavin & Billy Stritch on December 10, 2016 at 6 p.m. This is the 2016 Temple Isaiah Benefit Concert and it will feature the legendary and Tony® award-winning Linda Lavin, joined by her music director Billy Stritch as they present a delightful evening of jazz standards and show tunes. Broadway, Television and Film star Linda Lavin has received a Tony®, a Drama Desk, an Outer Critics,' and a Helen Hayes award. Billy Stritch, one of the premier singer-pianists on the New York and national jazz and cabaret scenes joins Ms. Lavin as they present jazz standards and show tunes that are sure to delight the audience.

Halloween Palm Springs has quickly become one of the hottest SoCal events, with visitors from across the nation flying in to enjoy the annual festivities. This year will be no exception, with Kristine W headlining on the MainStage, Saturday, October 29 from 6:00-10:00 p.m. Kristine W has scored 16 potent #1 dance hits and a record-setting string of nine consecutive #1s on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart over the past 16 years, earning Kristine third place on Billboard's Best of 2000s Dance Club Play Artists rankings. Her latest single 'Out There' is currently climbing the Billboard® Dance Chart and will be on sale and autographed at the event. 

The Coachella Valley is quickly becoming a mecca for exceptional theatre. And Dezart Performs' THE OUTGOING TIDE is no exception. Under Michael Shaw's skilled and measured direction the three actors bring tremendous honesty and poignancy to dialogue that could have easily waded into "made for television movie" territory. But the high level of craft, and the artistic collaboration between actors and director insure an evening that is profoundly moving, highly emotional and deeply thought provoking. 

AGNES OF GOD is challenging theatre at every level. It demands a lot of its audience. It demands its audience be engaged and active at every turn. It is both emotionally and intellectually stimulating and provocative. It is ninety-plus minutes of thought provoking dialogue with minimal action. One must listen. It asks a lot of questions and delivers few answers. It requires three exceptional actors with the dexterity to bounce effortlessly and honestly between strength and pathos and vulnerability, over and over again - to bring believability and life to an arduous load of complex dialogue.  It requires the deft hand of a skilled director to delicately weave these three divergent character arcs into a seamless singular story arc, where the story's quieter moments are equally as riveting as the more chaotic ones. Fortunately for desert audiences, Coyote Stageworks delivers on all counts. This AGNES OF GOD is well crafted, expertly acted and is cerebrally, spiritually, psychologically and emotionally fulfilling. 

Michael Childers' ninth annual One Night Only benefit concert, which is entitled Sondheim in Love, will be presented tonight at 6:30 PM at The McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert. Directed by Lucie Arnaz, the evening will feature musical direction by John McDaniel. The show will feature Sondheim's most romantic songs sung by a starry line-up of Broadway's most prolific musical storytellers.